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Nutrition

Body condition scoring continues to be an important and useful management tool for beef cow/calf producers. Unfortunately it is often forgotten about. The current method of evaluating body condition involves visually evaluating the animal, and assigning a body condition score (BCS) that reflects the animal’s current state of condition. It can be used as a […]

As we make our way through this extended cold snap, Dr. Mike Baker, Beef Cattle Extension Specialist at Cornell University offers the following information to best manage the beef cows during the winter months. In response to cold, changes in behavior and physiology will cause a cow’s appetite to increase and therefore eat more feed; […]

STILLWATER, Okla. – While it is true change can be a good thing, it rarely occurs without a learning curve. Not surprisingly, then, that is the case with the Veterinary Feed Directive after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently tightened the federal rule. As of Jan. 1, producers must obtain an authorization or prescription […]

As we move into fall one of the management practices that is “time well spent” is body condition scoring the cows. This provides us an opportunity to determine where they are, relative to where we want them to be at calving. From there we can group them accordingly, and determine ration needs. Dr. Glenn Selk, […]

The start of corn silage harvest for 2016 is just around the corner. In 2015, nearly a quarter of all four million acres of corn planted in WI were harvested as silage with an estimated market value between a quarter and a half billion dollars. However, like hay, there’s no established commodity market for corn […]

Most beef cattle producers understand the importance of providing high quality nutritional feedstuffs to achieve herd-specific goals of better production or herd health. The bottom line of production will always be the bottom line. Anyone in business is willing to cut costs if it means producing the same high quality product with an increased profit […]

Two recently completed research trials summary reports are now available here on the WBIC website. A research trial comparing different implant protocols on yearling Holstein steers was conducted at Lancaster. The summary of the trial can be found here: Implant Strategy Comparison When Feeding Heavy Holstein Steers (pdf) The second trial compared substituting different levels […]

Many producers are now in full swing of calving season or soon will be in the Northern Plains. Although late winter has been relatively mild with above average temperatures the last few weeks, we had snow and cold temperatures in December and January that challenged the nutritional status of cows this winter. Additionally, we are […]

Chances are you’re not thinking about forage testing in January but maybe you should be. Cattle producers know best that feed costs are the single largest expense in a cow-calf operation. In a study by Kansas State University, it was estimated that feed costs accounted for approximately 50% of total production costs on cow calf […]

In February 2016 SDSU Extension will host the 2nd Annual Heifer Development Webinar Series titled “Managing Bred Heifers for the Future”. This four-part webinar series begins on February 10th, 2016 and will focus on the management of bred heifers with the objective of providing producers with research-based tools they can use to effectively manage their […]